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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2003)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, February 5, 2003 Page 7 Biscuit timber legislation to be introduced On January 22, Josephine County had a birthday. There was no big celebration because it has only been 147 years since the county was formed. But it is still older than the State of Oregon, which will celebrate a birthday on Feb. 14. It will be 144 years since the state was created. That means that in 1856, when Jose- phine County was created, the area was still in territory status. Josephine was the last county created during the territorial period. The next county, Baker, which is in eastern Oregon, was formed in 1862. To go back to the beginning, Oregon settlers organized a pro- visional government in 1843 and four counties were formed, however they were then called districts. The Champoeg District began where the Pudding River emptied into the Willamette River and extended south to California and east to the Rocky Moun- tains. In 1845, the provisional government changed the districts to counties and Champoeg District became Marion County which was to honor General Francis Marion, a Revolutionary War hero. In 1847, the southern part of Marion County was given the name of Linn County to honor Sen. Lewis Linn from Missouri. He helped create the Donation Land Act, which gave free land to settlers. The next step was the creation of the Oregon territory on Aug. 14, 1848. Then, the southern part of Linn County and part of Yamhill County became Lane County which extended west to the coast, and south to California. This was named to honor Joseph Lane, the first territorial governor. Gold was being discovered in southern Oregon, and the gold fever brought a great population explosion to areas south of the Willamette Valley. In 1851, Umpqua County, which was later changed to Douglas County, was formed from Lane County. And in 1852, Jackson County, which also extended west to the coast, was formed south of Douglas. Douglas County was named for Sen. Stephen Douglas who pushed for Oregon statehood. Jacksonville and Jackson County were named for President Andrew Jackson. The coastal part of Jackson County became Coos County in 1853, named for the Coos Indian tribe. Curry County on the south end was created in 1855, and named for George Curry who was territorial governor at the time. It was the discovery of gold in the Illinois Valley which caused the influx of miners to Waldo and the south eastern part of the valley, which was called “Sailor’s Diggings.” This resulted in Josephine County being formed from the western part of Jackson County on Jan. 22, 1856. The name is unique in the state, being the only county named for a woman. Josephine Rollins was born in Morgan County, Illinois in 1833. In 1850, she, her father Lloyd, and other family members joined a wagon train headed for California and gold. At Fort Hall on the Snake River, they changed their destination to Oregon be- cause their oxen probably wouldn’t have made it to California. They spent the winter of 1850-51 in Oregon City and headed south to California in the spring of 1851. Gold had not yet been discovered in Jacksonville or Waldo, so the Rollins party was not searching for gold. However, on reaching the Rogue River, Indians informed them of yellow metal to the west and so the Rollins came to the Illinois Valley. They made the first discovery of gold in the val- ley, on what they called “Josephine Creek,” named for Lloyd’s daughter. Stories are recorded that Josephine made pies for the miners and sold them for a dollar apiece. She was considered the first white woman to settle in Josephine County. They did not remain long in the area and by 1853, she was in Yreka, Calif. She married Julius Ort in 1854, at Colusa, Calif. A letter she wrote in 1909 from Sonoma, California, is in the ar- chives of the Oregon Historical Society, and that is the last record of Josephine Rollins Ort which I have been able to find. Illinois River Acupuncture & Chinese Herbs Large Animal Veterinarian now available in Illinois Valley! Dr. Todd Bershad, DVM is now scheduling equine and other large animal appointments in the Illinois Valley! For appointments contact CROSSROADS ANIMAL HOSPITAL 592-3222 Interest in the Biscuit Fire in Southwestern Oregon by the U.S. Senate and represen- tatives has spurred the Grants Pass/Josephine County Cham- ber of Commerce to request that immediate legislation be introduced to harvest salvage- able burned timber. Dave Hill, director of Medford-based Southern Ore- gon Timber Industries Asso- ciation, indicated to the cham- ber’s Government Affairs committee that, “The salvage of burned and killed timber should begin in spring 2003, before significant value is lost to decay, disease or insects. “Siskiyou National Forest should provide accurate esti- mates of timber volume lost in the Biscuit Fire; reforestation should occur on all burned acres, not just those classified as ‘matrix.’ “The public should be polled as to whether or not they want lands within the Kalmiopsis Wilderness left as is (burned, or should the wil- derness acres be replanted as soon as possible). (From left) DANI SIMPSON, BROOK SULLIVAN, KAYLAH ARNETT, CATHERINE SULLIVAN, BRENT ROLLINS (standing), ECHO REAGAN, ALICE WEBER AND CLAY SIMPSON. Equestrian Team trots into new season By JAN SIMPSON The Illinois Valley High School Equestrian Team will start a new season on Friday- Sunday, Feb. 14-16. This mostly new team is excited about competing, and would like to invite all Illinois Valley residents to the Jack- son County Expo. to cheer them on during the first meet of the season. Most people are in the dark when they hear about the “Equestrian Team.” Approxi- mately 10 years ago, I was invited to an organizational meeting in Grants Pass where some of the parents spoke about their dream of starting a sport for riders who could compete for their schools and letter in that sport. I thought it would never happen on a large scale. Boy was I wrong. Over the years, I’ve watched it grow from a small regional sport to Oregon High School Equestrian Teams (OHSET) making it the fastest growing high school sport in the state. There are more than 1,000 riders involved, and we have three district meets where riders compete to qual- Latex gloves no longer used in preparing food, says DHS Allergic reactions associ- ated with latex gloves have prompted a new state rule that bans their use among food service workers, according to public health officials at the Oregon Dept. of Human ser- vices (ODHS). “This change will protect the health of Oregonians,” said Dr. Mel Kohn, state epi- demiolo gist in ODHS. “Although the ban isn’t effec- tive until March, we encour- age restaurants to switch to safer gloves as soon as possi- ble.” The Oregon Restaurant Association (ORA) is working with ODHS to educate restau- rateurs about the safety rule. “We did not help create the rule, but we are helping to get the word out about it,” said Mike McCallum, ORA presi- dent and CEO. “We have been encourag- ing restaurants to provide their employees with alternative gloves for years, and are pleased to participate with ODHS by informing and edu- cating our members about the new rule.” Natural rubber latex gloves contain proteins that can cause allergies, according to Kohn. “Workers who are in repeated contact with the gloves are at increased risk of developing reactions that range from mild itching and rash to hives, difficulty in breathing and sometimes even death,” he said. Kohn said that customers can be at risk of a reaction related to latex gloves, too. “People who are sensitive to latex rubber can have a reac- tion just by eating food that has been prepared by an em- ployee wearing latex gloves,” he said. Between 8 percent to 17 percent of workers who are regularly exposed to pow- dered latex gloves are sensi- tive to latex, and between 1 percent and 6 percent of the general population have latex allergy, according to Kohn. The March 1, 2003 imple- mentation date will give res- taurant owners and supply companies time to switch to safer alternatives, said McCallum. “Vinyl and polyvi- nyl chloride gloves are low- cost solutions. We are inform- ing and educating employers and workers in restaurants across Oregon so they will be ready when this goes into ef- fect,” he said. It is estimated that as many as half of all food ser- vice facilities still use latex rubber gloves. In recent years there has been an increase in the use of latex gloves among food service, janitorial, house- keeping and child-care indus- tries. This has been accompa- nied by an increase in workers compensation claims related to latex glove reactions, Kohn said. Anyone wanting more information about latex gloves and latex allergies can check the Web at www.ohd. hr.state. or.us/eoe/derm/latex.htm or phone (503) 731-4025. ify for the state meet in May. This year, the state meet will be held in Medford. The I.V. Team has existed for four years and has sent riders to state every year. There are classes for all types of riders and horses from mini to draft, including roping, games, equitation (many disci- plines), trail, working pairs and drill. Oregon is the only state that has this, although Wash- ington has sent teams to our district and state meets. For more info. Phone Alicia 592- 3515 or Jan at 592-3947. 592-4553 Restaurante Kids Menu Regularly $3.95 >> NOW! 99 ¢ << Sunday thru Wednesday Lunch or Dinner - 12 and Under - No Take-Outs Don’t drink and drive. The Illinois Valley Golf Course Joe Crutchfield Don Clark Fay & Company Jewel Fincher Wayland Fincher Jim Valentine Vic’s Welding Buster Short Lou Trujillo Gene Chavez Chris Chavez Ken Lewis Gary Noleroth Bob Paul Bob Hurt Kit Fluck Marv Ahlers Arnold Mellow Terrie McPherson Jared Kinkade Max Hull Timberline KKB Land Surveying ‘I.V. News’ Down & Out Sheet Metal ould like to express appreciation to all that contributed to the successful completion of the water pipeline and pump station from the Illinois River. Budd Fosmore Tom & Sandy Morrissey Pacific Power Duane Wm. Schultz Water Resources Dept. American Title I.V. Building Supply Barlow Rock North Star Industries Riverside Ready Mix Also, anyone that we forgot to mention above plus the many members & players who have supported Illinois Valley Golf Course throughout the drought years. Watch for the official dedication & tournament in the spring!